Report of the Secretary-General on South Sudan

Date: 
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Countries: 
S. Sudan
Report Analysis: 

  • WPS concerns were mentioned in this report primarily in the context of SGBV and in relation to programs underway by UNMISS to train groups on aspects of WPS issues.

  • The Secretary-General details attacks on the civilian population, particularly on women and children, most notably in Jonglei state (para 48).

  • In para 58 on sexual violence, the SG notes that owing to the lack of national capacity to assess and verify cases of sexual violence, coupled with cultural practices that inhibit reporting, few cases were confirmed during the period. This statement indicates that there are structural problems both in addressing and preventing SGBV. The SG goes on to note that in the absence of SGBV referral services in Jonglei, the SGBV sub-cluster of the South Sudan Protection Cluster was able to assist victims following attacks in December 2011 and January 2012. The SG closes this para with discussion of the establishment of additional capacity to implement monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements on conflict-related SV, UNMISS will be able to report more systematically in accordance with SC RES 1888, 1889, and 1960.

  • There are myriad instances in the report where attention to WPS issues would have been most relevant. For example, although security incidents are extensively detailed (paras 22-34), there is no information on how women were affected in this regard. Similarly, in the humanitarian developments section, detailing food security concerns, high levels of displacement, and general increased insecurity (paras 74-77), the particular concerns of women are not discussed.

  • Although the Secretary-General, throughout the report discussed statistics on numbers of staff, he did not provide a gender breakdown in this regard. For example in para 4, describing the 45 members of the National Constitutional Review Commission, no information is provided on how many of the representatives were women. In the same vein, in statistics on the strength of UNMISS’ force deployment, no numbers were given on how many staff are female (para 39, paras 42-43, para 46).

Analysis provided by the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, of which WILPF is a member.

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
South Sudan
This report is an update on deployments and activities, as well as an overall assessment of the situation, since the first progress report (S/2011/678) issued 2 November 2011.